RALEIGH - Positive doping tests by Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin and Tour de France winner Floyd Landis are destroying the credibility of American sport, the 2004 Olympics US men's athletics coach said yesterday.
"They are destroying it big-time," George Williams said. "It is affecting sports everywhere. It is affecting
the credibility of young kids.
"Justin is a hero. He is a hero for track and field. He is an American hero."
Williams did not believe Gatlin used performance-enhancing substances.
"Anybody that gets caught if they are doing something wrong, that's a good sign," he said. "But if they are not doing something wrong, that's a bad sign."
Both denied taking banned substances and said they would fight to clear their names.
"We are in the process of reaping what we sowed," World Anti-Doping Agency Dick Pound said before Gatlin's positive was announced. "We let this [doping] problem get out of hand in the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s, and now you pay the price of when great performances occur, people ask questions."
US Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth said doping was like a cancer.
"It tears at the fabric of what makes sport unique and important to our society," Ueberroth said.
He said the committee was committed to "winning this battle".
US Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Terry Madden criticised anyone who participated in or permitted doping.
USA Track & Field boss Craig Masback said he hoped Gatlin had not committed a doping offence.
But he added: "His case demonstrates that in track and field and Olympic sports, it doesn't matter who you are. If you test positive for a banned substance, you will face substantial consequences."
- REUTERS
